Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Is it the Trump effect that causes these absurd assumptions about sexuality?

Wednesday, Walter E. Williams writes at the Heritage Foundation's blog: “Liberals Think They Can Alter Reality. They’re Wrong.” It is a rather strange projection (as you will see). Furthermore, this particular liberal — I am referring to myself — is thoroughly grounded in reality.

Walter E. Williams seems to have move around a bit but he does have a named professorship in economics at George Mason University. We are informed that, on occasion he is a substitute host for Rush Limbaugh. Williams appears to be a very smart guy who can be stunningly stupid (as you will see). I am going to assume that his particular personality disorder is the product of religious fundamentalism. A rational explanation is required for an irrational polemic.

The XX/XY sex determination system is found in humans. Females have two of the same kind of sex chromosome (XX), whereas males have two distinct sex chromosomes (XY). This chromosomal reality is seen as limiting, annoying, and an artifact of a patriarchal, chauvinistic society.

Whenever people misstate an opponent's argument it reflects a failure on their part to formulate something persuasive and logical. Most people have a sex defined by chromosomes. I write most people because about 20% of inter-sex people have ambiguous chromosomes. No one is arguing otherwise and chromosomes are not particularly annoying to me. Williams is manufacturing a controversy when none exists. It is a rhetorical fallacy from someone writing about reality.

So liberals and progressives want to change it. Say you are an XY (male) individual but would like to conduct your affairs in a facility designated for XX (female) individuals, such as a ladies’ room. You can satisfy your desire by claiming that you are transgender—that is, you’ve switched from one gender to another. Therefore, if one has XY chromosomes, he can behave as if he were an XXer.

Mr. Reality is confusing sex with gender. That aside he has things ass backwards. He is claiming that people choose to be transgender in order to use the facility that they like. The reality is that no one volunteers to be trans. Common sense should so inform Mr. Williams. Being trans is much too stressful for anyone to make it a choice. There are simply too many ignoramuses around, often claiming to be a voice of reality. Then the order of things. The reality is that choosing a restroom that is consistent with one's gender is a result of that gender, not the other way around. Williams' version makes no sense at all.

Plus, there is the expectation of being addressed according to one’s chosen gender. The Minneapolis Police Department has a new rule that requires officers to address transgender people using their preferred names and pronouns. When an XYer is arrested but claims he is a woman, I wonder whether the police will place him in a cell with XXers.

There he goes with that “chosen” BS. If he writes it enough will that alter the reality? And, yes, in polite society we expect to be addressed as we choose to be addressed. It is simply a case of bad manners to intentionally address a transgender person contrary to their presentation. Wherever did Mr. Williams obtain this erudition in social science? Oddly enough, it does not appear on his curricula vitae. If one is truly interested in reality then one consults experts in the field. With respect to gender and human sexuality the experts would call Mr. Williams a crank.

Another part of reality that liberals and progressives find difficult to accept is the fact that equality among humans is the exception and inequality the norm.

If one were to list the world’s top 30 violinists of the 20th century, at least 20 of them would be of Jewish ancestry. Jews constitute no more than 3 percent of the U.S. population but 35 percent of American Nobel Prize winners. One wonders what liberals would propose to promote equality in violin excellence and winning a Nobel Prize.

The reality is that we define equality by equal protection under the law in contrast to equality of skills. The fact that Jews might be over-represented as Nobel laureates is entirely irrelevant. As an aside I would also note that we have been victimized and persecuted by pretty much the same people who are now victimizing LGBT Americans.

By the way, liberals and progressives love to attend classical concerts, where there is a virtual absence of racial diversity.

I am one of those. I do not necessarily agree with Williams. I never counted heads but should I not attend a concert because of this claim? I also have no way of knowing (and neither does Williams) what percentage of a concert audience is liberal and what percentage is conservative. Again, I think that Williams has manufactured a controversy which is an altered reality.

Somehow liberals and progressives manage to cope with some realities but go ballistic with others. They cope well with black domination of basketball, football, and track and with the near absence of black performers in classical concerts. They also accept the complete absence of women in the NFL and NBA.

What on earth is the point? Yes, we all know that certain groups do better than others at certain human endeavors. What the fuck is the point?

The reality that they go ballistic on is the reality that we are not all equally intelligent. There are many more male geniuses than female, and median male IQ is higher. Liberals might argue bias in the testing. Men are taller on average than women. If liberals don’t like that, would they accuse the height-measuring device of being biased?

The reality is that we all accept the fact that some people are smarter than others. According to the folks at Time Magazine women have closed the IQ gap with men. All in all so what? And how did we end up here?

The lesson liberals need to learn is that despite their arrogance, they do not have the power to alter reality.

I'll bet this professor said to himself “that'll show them!” He has droned on and on about the fact that we are unequal as humans as if there was some disagreement among progressives. Bernie Sanders himself would not argue the point. Where we are unequal is not related to differences in human development. Not at all. Contrary to expectations Americans do not always enjoy equal protection and due process. That is the reality. That form of inequality is unacceptable in an advanced society. Gay people and transgender people are as deserving of those American ideals as Mr. Williams. That, too, is reality because equality is not dependent upon — and should not be dependent upon — Walter E. Williams' approval.